History

Time period:

GE History, 2001-2004

Breakthrough Discoveries

With exciting discoveries in such fields as medical technology, power generation, and lighting, the GE tradition of innovation picked up speed. More people were working harder in more areas than ever before, and in more places, like the Technology Center in China. Innovation at GE extended from advances in the detection and diagnosis of cancer to work on the International Space Station.

1992

2003

2001

GE Medical Systems introduced a major advance in imaging technology that helps physicians detect and diagnose cancer earlier than ever before: the GE Discovery LS. For many patients who are suspected of having cancer, the GE Discovery LS allows doctors to more accurately visualize the extent and location of their disease so that they can develop the best possible treatment plan.

2001

GE lighting innovations continue with the GE Reveal™ line of light bulbs which filter out dull yellow rays common from ordinary light bulbs, providing a crisper, cleaner light that enhances the richness of colors and textures in the home. Also, compact fluorescent bulbs are redesigned using a new tube geometry that reduces their overall size to that of a comparable standard incandescent light bulb.

2002

With the introduction of the world's first 4D Ultrasound System, the GE Voluson 730, GE announces a new generation of ultrasound imaging. Physicians and sonographers can now view 3D images live for the first time in breathtaking detail. Built on a digital platform, the Voluson 730 provides physicians more information and better image quality, faster than ever before.

2002

Extending its reach into a market that includes nearly one-third of the human population, GE opens the China Technology Center in Shanghai, the third location for GE's corporate research and development operations. GE scientist and researchers now work around the clock, and around the world on solving some of the world's toughest problems.

2002

GE's work in space continues with the International Space Station. GE works with NASA to help make sure that the U.S. Laboratory Destiny is space ready, free of any leaks, and safe for the astronauts who will soon call it home.

2003

Medicine in the Digital Age takes another big step forward as GE Medical Systems partners with the Indiana Heart Hospital to open the first all-digital hospital featuring the GE Centricity™ Information System which integrates real-time electronic patient records, data and medical images and is accessible to physicians anywhere in the hospital.

2003

Test operations of first H System begin at Baglan Bay, Wales. GE's H System (the world's most advanced combined cycle system and the first capable of breaking the 60 percent efficiency barrier) integrates the gas turbine, steam turbine and heat recovery steam generator into a seamless system, optimizing each component's performance.

2003

As GE advances its efforts to meet or exceed government regulations for fuel-efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions, the new fuel-efficient GE Evolution Series locomotives, which comply with 2005 U.S. environmental regulations, begin test operations.

2003

GE's extensive work in productivity and efficiency improves the world of shipment with the VeriWise trucking system. Offering both satellite and cellular-based telematics solutions, VeriWise TRUCKING helps eliminate the blind spots in transportation operations, increasing efficiency and helping to dramatically reduce cargo theft and tampering. For consumers this means stocked shelves, efficient shipping, proper handling of goods in transit and on-time delivery.

2003

In the home, new technologies take better care of your clothes and make cooking easier than ever before. The GE Profile Harmony™ Clothes Care System is the first washer to communicate electronically with the dryer, resulting in better clothes care. And in the kitchen, GE Profile™ Ovens with Trivection™ Technology are the first to combine thermal, convection and microwave energies. Speed modes allow the full-size ovens to cook foods up to five times faster than conventional ovens.

2003

GE Consumer Finance rebrands to GE Money, giving the business a unified global brand. To reach more consumers and leverage the opportunities for cross-selling, GE Money ANZ (Australia/New Zealand) creates the 'Dual Card' — an innovative consumer card — to provide consumers with all the functionality of a store card, including discounts or promotional credit, and all the convenience of a general purpose credit card, including global acceptance and fast access to cash.

2004

Meeting the emerging challenges presented by our world, GE introduces StreetLab, a bulk identification system for identifying visible powders, pills and liquids. StreetLab is a portable explosives and narcotics identification system that offers an entirely new solution to the problem of analyzing unknown seized substances in the field. To address other concerns, GE introduces the GE Ion Track's EntryScan3, Itemiser3 and VaporTracer2, trace detection systems for analyzing invisible particles and vapors.

2004

Bringing important developments in medical imagery out of the hospital and into the world, GE Healthcare launches the world’s first miniaturized cardiovascular ultrasound system, the Vivid I. This advanced “Visual Stethoscope of the Future” provides physicians with high-performance, full-featured imaging in a lightweight design, allowing them to help more patients, wherever they may be.

2004

Boeing selects GE’s GEnx engine for both its 787 Dreamliner and 747-8, an advanced version of the venerable 747 jumbo jet. With unprecedented composites for a jet engine and a unique combustion system, the GEnx sharply raises the bar on fuel efficiency, noise, and emissions.

2004

GE innovation is easier on the eyes thanks to yet another application of GE's Lexan. GE's Advanced Materials develops a series of films that help televisions and computers maintain an evenly lit screen that makes them easier to view. Placed in the back light module, these films allow the LCD module to provide a bright, uniform screen appearance. Major consumer electronic companies are now using LEXAN Illuminex display films in their LCD displays.

2004

Scientists at GE Global Research demonstrate an Organic LED (OLED) device that is fully functional as a 24-inch by 24-inch panel, producing 1,200 lumens of light with an efficiency on par with today's incandescent bulb technology. This is the first demonstration that OLED technology can potentially be used for lighting applications by 2010.

2004

Scientists at GE Global Research demonstrate an Organic LED (OLED) device that is fully functional as a 24-inch by 24-inch panel, producing 1,200 lumens of light with an efficiency on par with today's incandescent bulb technology. This is the first demonstration that OLED technology can potentially be used for lighting applications by 2010.

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About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) imagines things others don’t, builds things others can’t and delivers outcomes that make the world work better. GE brings together the physical and digital worlds in ways no other company can. In its labs and factories and on the ground with customers, GE is inventing the next industrial era to move, power, build and cure the world.